THE RELEVANCE OF METAPHYSICS TO CONTEMPORARY SOCIETY

BY

ABIODUN MOSES, JINADU E-mail: abbeyjinadu@yahoo.com

+2348038462656

DEPARTMENT OF PHILOSOPHY, ADEKUNLE AJASIN UNIVERSITY, AKUNGBA- AKOKO, ONDO STATE.

Abstract1

The objective of this paper is to examine the relevance of metaphysics to contemporary society. It opines that, contrary to some people’s opinions that “metaphysics does not bake bread nor build bridges”, metaphysics serves as the foundation upon which all other disciplines are built. It is in fact, the foundation of all other sciences. To say metaphysics has no place in our contemporary world, is an aberration and a calculated attempt to destroy the structure of the universe because the universe itself encompasses both the physical and the spiritual. This paper, particularly, examines the relevance of metaphysics to man, the world, science and technology. It so important to say that science cannot thrive without metaphysics. Even the scientific enterprise has its being from metaphysics. The paper argues that there is no justifiable reason for science in discriminating against non-empirical studies like metaphysics owing to their non-empirical characters. The paper further showed that science should not be the sole criterion or parameter for determining the significance or relevance of other disciplines in human affairs. The method of critical-conceptual analysis is employed while existing literatures on the subject provide the background to the paper. The paper concludes that metaphysics is so important to human development because no man can exist without going beyond his physical level in order to reflect on both the seen and the unseen realities and it is by moving beyond the physical that man discovers new things for himself such as new ideas, innovations, discoveries, inventions etc.

Introduction

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This paper examines the relevance of metaphysics to our

contemporary society. It particularly talks about the importance of

metaphysics like its rival discipline, science. Part of the objectives of this

paper, is to argue that some scientific claims, assumptions and activities

have metaphysical presuppositions. Though, the major focus is to show case

the relevance of metaphysics to man and his society but not

notwithstanding, science which is believed by many people in the world to

have the power of development, cannot do without metaphysics because it

derived its origin from it. Science goes beyond itself before it can bring about

breakthroughs and inventions. Scientists go beyond this empirical world to

reflect and critically reason our solutions to problems which will eventually

bring about new discoveries.

Certainly, metaphysics has been an important part of the history of

philosophy and has engaged the minds of philosophers since the time of the

Greeks. The Greeks developed overtime a massive and complex mythology

that explained in animistic, anthropomorphic terms many of the natural

phenomena seen in the world around them. The issue is whether it is

possible to construct metaphysics as an accomplishing discipline of thought,

meaning metaphysics that would be more than a mental and philosophical

exercise and that would instead serve to offer a real framework for living

and for understanding the world in which we live. Metaphysics is a branch of

philosophy that examines the nature of reality and the relationships between

such elements as mind and matter, substance and attribute. It includes both

ontology and cosmology. Metaphysics is the most abstract division of

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philosophy and addresses issues of ultimate reality. Metaphysics is

concerned with what really exists and what it is that makes reality possible.

The exact nature of metaphysics has long been argued, which brings into

question its validity and usefulness.1

The Meaning and Nature of Metaphysics

This session examines the nature of metaphysics with the objective of

showing that the various attacks on metaphysics have arisen owing to the

gross misunderstanding of its nature. This session also shows that

metaphysics does not only deal with matters that are beyond physical reality

but is also concerned with the whole of reality (both empirical and non-

empirical). Indeed, the discriminatory tendency against metaphysics rests

majorly on the inability to identify the main nature and scope of

metaphysics. However, the world of science cannot even be restricted to

objects actually existing but also some of its possible functions and

arrangements are implicitly metaphysical.

What is Metaphysics?

Metaphysics is one of the core areas of philosophy. The word

metaphysics’ is derived from two Greek words, ‘meta’ which means “after”

and “physika” which means “physics” (or nature). Thus the word

metaphysics, literally means “after physics”, “metaphysics”; and it was first

used by Andronicus of Rhodes, the editor of Aristotle’s works, around 70B.C.

Aristotle had some treatises on physics which bore that title physics. He also

had some other treatises dealing with non-physical matters, but without a

title. In his arrangement of Aristotle’s works while editing them for

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publication, Andronicus placed the treatises dealing with non-physical

matters after those dealing with physics. He did not know what to call them,

so he simply called them after physics- “metaphysical,” that is the treatises

that come next after those dealing with physics. This was the origin of this

word.2

As a branch of philosophy, it is the study of the totality of being, that

is, the nature and structure of reality as a whole. What metaphysicians have

been trying to do down through the ages is to give a comprehensive account

of the whole of reality, its nature, its structures, and the place of man in the

universe as well as in the totality of reality. Hence, Alfred North White head,

one of the outstanding metaphysicians of this century, defines metaphysics

as the Endeavour to frame a coherent, logical, necessary system of general

ideas in terms of which every element of our experience can be interpreted.3

While Aristotle called metaphysics “First philosophy”, Plato called it

“Dialectics” and it is the core of Plato’s philosophy. For Plato, metaphysics is

the study of reality as distinct from appearance. Reality, for him, lies beyond

the material world which is only an imperfect reflection or shadow, and it is

metaphysics (dialectics which takes us beyond this reflection or shadow

brings us to reality itself). Where is reality itself? It is in the world of forms

(otherwise known as the world of ideas) which is accessible only to

philosophers who make use of dialectics (metaphysics) to get there.4

For Aristotle (384-322 B.C.), a pupil of Plato and the teacher of

Alexander the Great, and one of the most influential philosophers of all

times, metaphysics is the science which studies Being qua Being, and the

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properties inherent in it in virtue of its own nature. It arises from wonder and

is a search for the first principles and ultimate causes of everything which is

and that which is substance. The Aristotelian view of metaphysics continues

to exert an influence till today.5

According to M.J. Kerlin in his paper titled “Nature of Metaphysics”,

metaphysics has been an important part of philosophy as well as human

history. For him, to reveal the true nature of reality, its contents and

structure is to place man within the cosmos in his relation to other kinds of

things and to his creator, to determine man’s duty to himself and to God,

and the true route to happiness- these are also exhibited in the works of

Plato, Descartes, Leibniz, Spinoza, Bradley and so on. No wonder, its

advocates have exalted the metaphysical pursuit! Of course, to exalt the

metaphysical pursuit is not the same as to exalt metaphysics as a discipline-

the search for answers to these questions may in itself be notified while one

might downgrade metaphysics itself because it never provides final answers.

In truth, in the modern world, we most often compare the supposed

uncertainties of metaphysics with the supposed certainties of science, the

first being about the cause of the natural world itself, which can be explained

in terms of operation without recourse to a first cause. Through, the question

of why things are as they are will persist, and we need a methodology for

addressing such questions. Metaphysics provides this even if the method

cannot reach a final stage.6

Henri Bergson in his book “Introduction to metaphysics” explains that

in the Eighteeth century, a follower of Leibniz Christian Wolff (1679-1754), a

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rationalist and an extremely influential pedagogue, divides the subject

matter of speculative philosophy into general metaphysics (or ontology)-a

transcendental science of all Being, real or possible-and special metaphysics,

composed of theodicy (or natural theology), which deals with man’s natural

knowledge of God, cosmology (or the philosophy of nature), which deals with

animate beings especially man in so far as he is rational. The division of

metaphysics, though once widely accepted and still referred to, is no longer

generally followed. In the contemporary period, even the distinction

between metaphysics and ontology is not usually sharply drawn in Anglo-

American philosophy, although it continues to be employed on the continent.

There ontology refers to an analysis of structure, whereas metaphysics deals

with existential propositions, that is, with propositions concerning the

existence of what is.7

Michael Esfeld, a specialist in the metaphysics of science asserts that

metaphysics depends upon science when it is illustrated by considering the

examples of global supervenience, the tenseless versus the tensed theory of

time and existence, events versus substances, and relations versus intrinsic

properties. An argument is sketched out for a metaphysics of a four-

dimensioned block universe whose contents are events and their sequences,

events consisting in physical properties instantiated at space-time points,

these properties being relations rather than intrinsic properties. Esfeld also

explains that metaphysics…is about what there is and what it is like. But of

course, it is concerned not with any old shopping list of what there is and

what it is like. Metaphysicians seek a comprehensive account of some

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subject matter-the mind, the semantic, or, most ambitiously, everything –in

terms of a limited number of more or less basic notions. In doing this, they

are following the good example of physicists. The methodology is not that of

letting a thousand flowers bloom but that of making do with as a meager a

diet as possible.8

To this end, since metaphysics, in its widest sense, is concerned with

the nature and structure of all reality, its concerns are basic and general,

thus historically it has been used by systematic philosophers as a basis for

such other philosophical disciplines such as ethics, aesthetics, the philosophy

of history and philosophical anthropology. Although metaphysics is taken by

some to be the heart of philosophy, it has not been without its critics. There

have been many attacks on metaphysics most recently by the logical

positivists for its being “other worldly” imaginative unfounded speculation, or

utterly meaningless.9

Man and Metaphysics

In exemplifying metaphysics as the basic of life contrary to the views

of the scientists and other scholars in other fields, Baidyanath construes that

in our today world no longer can one describe earth and life in terms of mere

laws of physics and chemistry that life just happened by chance on earth.

He argues that there is more to nature than the physics. That is, the

understanding of the nature itself is beyond human cognition. No human

being on earth, be it scientists or any other can offer a rational justification

for all the happenings in the world.10

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Furthermore, metaphysics has been with man right from inception.

Man did not know that he was doing metaphysics. It should be noted that

neither Parmenides, Plato, Aristotle, nor any of the founding fathers of

Western Philosophy used the word “metaphysics” even though they were

metaphysicians. This word as earlier said, came into use by accident as the

title of a collection of treatises of Aristotle, indicating the position of these

treatises in the arrangement of Aristotle’s works. The concept was however

central to their philosophies. They were doing metaphysics but without using

the word metaphysics”. They attempted to give a comprehensive account of

the nature and structure of reality as a whole. For, instance while Aristotle

called metaphysics “First philosophy”, Plato called it “Dialectics” and it is the

core of Plato’s philosophy. For him (Plato), metaphysics is the study of

reality as distinct from appearance. Reality, for him, lies beyond the natural

world which is only an imperfect reflection or shadow, and it is metaphysics

(dialectics) which takes us beyond this reflection or shadow and brings us to

reality itself. Where is reality itself? It is in the world of forms which is

accessible only to philosophers who make use of dialectics (metaphysics) to

get there.11

In its origin says Copleston, “metaphysics arises simply out of natural

desire to understand the world”.12 Metaphysics springs naturally from our

innate instinct of curiosity. Man has a natural curiosity to know, he wants to

understand and be able to explain what he sees and experience in the world

around him. This natural curiosity to understand and explain what he sees

leads him beyond what he sees, and leads him into metaphysics. For things

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point beyond themselves and you cannot understand or explain them

without going beyond them. Thus, starting from the world of our empirical

experience, we are gradually led beyond it in our attempt to understand it 13 , and we are led into metaphysics. Our horizon becomes broadened

beyond the facts of immediate experience, the world of empirical

experience. It awakens in us the realization that there is more to things than

we can perceive in them with our senses. We become aware that there is

more to reality than is empirically perceptible. This was how Kant was

gradually led from things as they appear to us to things as they are in

themselves, from the phenomenal world to the noumenal world. Before Kant,

Plato had been led in a similar way gradually from the world empirical

experience into the world of forms. It was his attempt to explain motion in

the world that Aristotle was led to discover the unmoved mover and the

Uncaused cause. It was the attempt to explain the things in the world of

empirical experience that led John Locke to discover substance, that led

Leibniz to discover monads, that led Hegel to discover absolute spirit, and

Schopenhauer to discover the Will to live etc.14

To this end, metaphysics has been with man from inception and man has

been making use of it to discover new things in this world of experience and

the world that is beyond our world.

The Relationship Between Metaphysics and Science

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This session aims at arguing for the symbiotic relationship that exists

between metaphysics and science contrary to the view that the former has

no relevance to life and that is of no value and importance to humanity.

Having examined and defined metaphysics, what then is science? The Latin

word of science is ‘Scire’ (scientia) which means knowledge. This makes

science conterminous with knowledge. But a proper historical ordering will

place knowledge as prior to science.15 Notable philosophers from antiquity

including Aristotle and the Medieval philosophers to the modern period

(period of renaissance) made valuable contributions to the growth of science

on all fronts. We cannot forget key players like Francis Bacon, Rene

Descartes, Kepler, Tycho Brahe, Copernicus, Newton Isaac. John Locke,

Albert Einstein, George Berkeley, Gottfried Leibniz, who provided added

impetus to the philosophical examination of science in the modern period.16

The development of science still needs the launching pad provided by

Ernest Mach and Charles Sanders Pierce, and in fact, the role of

phenomenalism, and logical positivism to the growth of science. Ernest mach

was concerned with phenomenalism, for him, science was built out of

phenomena, that is, reality as presented to us through the senses. This

made appearance synonymous with reality. Scientific fact became known as

conterminous with appearance since we are dealing with the observable. For

Pierce, science should be seen from the point of view of ability to derive facts

from objective observations, and what is observable should be testable.

Science was then seen from the point of view of instrumentalism. The danger

here is that science became reduced to an instrumentation enterprise, which

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determines its own standard and as such above the critique offered by

philosophy.17

To Mickley, science and metaphysics have had a changing relationship

with time. The philosophy of the ancient Greece made little distinction

between topics that we would now assign the label of science and those that

we would assign the label of metaphysics. The term metaphysics actually is

due to Aristotle and refers to the book he wrote after the book on physics,

entitled metaphysics or after physics’. It dealt with topics other than physical

science topics. Before Aristotle, there was debate about the nature of

physical things and change. Some philosophers maintained that everything

is in a state of flux. On the other hand some argued against this in saying

that everything is what it is and cannot change into what it is not. Mickley

explains further that, in the 5th century B.C. Democritus proposed a way out

of this dilemma. He maintains that all matter is made up of small

indestructible units, which he called atoms. The atoms themselves remained

unchanged, having fixed properties. However, they could move and combine

in various ways so that macroscopic bodies that they made up might seem

to change. This explanation provided for both permanence and flux. This

gives rise to the doctrine of materialism.18 The above further establishes the

relationship between philosophy and science right from the world go.

Moreso, several scientific activities and works are underlined by

metaphysical presuppositions. Science begins from the conception stage (i.e

belief stage which is metaphysical in nature) before breakthroughs come. For

example, interpreting natural phenomena is a complex process because

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contributions come from observation, logic and a variety of methodological,

ontological and religious beliefs. Also, complementing this, is the fact that

the reversability of materialism requires that one believes the non-material

realm.

Furthermore, to see how science interrelates with metaphysics is to

examine the metaphysical nature of matter. Matter which has been thought

to be inert but now we know that it is endowed with motion. As Engels tells

us, there is conflict, contradictions, dialectic going on inside matter.19 Also,

the Jesuit scientist and paleontologist, Teihard Chadin tells us that matter is

endowed with consciousness (though a very low level of consciousness).20

All these further corroborate our position that science is swimming in

the ocean of metaphysics. Is modern science not becoming more and more

metaphysical? There is another area of interest which borders on the

question that, do scientists have any reason to believe that current scientific

theories are true when all the scientific theories of the past have turned out

to be false? How can scientists take a scientific theory that is about entities

and processes no one can observe? This question raised by some scholars

represents the kind of question that philosophers usually ask about science.

The response to this question and curiosity-that go with it constitutes

philosophy of science.21

To this end, the aforementioned facts have shown or established the

nexus between science and metaphysics, and have equally shown that

scientific activities are underlined by metaphysical presuppositions.

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The Relevance of Metaphysics to Society.

The relevance of metaphysics to the development of the society

cannot be quantified. Before the relevance of metaphysics is construed on,

little explanation is given below.

As we have earlier pointed out, modern science is marked out from

other disciplines by the procedural method of observation, experimentation

and generalization. By virtue of this method, science has come to be

regarded as the surest and most reliable means at man’s disposal for

exploring and discovering the secrets of nature, the hard –facts of nature

and the laws which govern natural events. But the question is, are we living

in the Age of science alone? If we are to answer this question with another

question, why do so many pseudoscientific and no-scientific traditions

abound in our society? Religion, myths, superstitions, mysticisms, witchcraft

cults, New Age benefits, and nonsense of all sorts have penetrated every

nook and cranny of both popular and high culture. One may rationalize that

compared to the magical thinking of the middle Ages things are not so bad.

But statistically speaking, pseudoscientific beliefs are experiencing a revival

in the late 20th century. A 1990 Gallup poll of 1,236 adult Americans shows

percentages of belief in the paranormal that are alarming:

Astrology: 52%

- Extra sensory perception (ESP) (i.e ability to know things without using

the senses of sight, hearing etc): 46%

- Witches: 19%

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- Aliens have landed on Earth: 22%

- The lost continent of Atlantis:33%

- Dinosaurs and Humans lived simultaneously: 41%

- Noah’s flood: 65%

- Communication with the dead: 42%

- Ghost: 35%

- Actuality had a psychi Experience: 67%.

Other poplar beliefs of our time that little or no veracity in evidence include:

Dowsing, the Bermuda triangle, Poltergeists, biorhythms, creationism,

psychokinetic, astrology, ghosts, psychi detectives, unidentified flying

objects (UFOs) (e.g a strange object that some people claim to have seen in

the sky and believe is a space craft from another planet), remote viewing,

kirlian auras, emotions in plants, life and death, monster, graphology, crypto-

zzoology, clairvoyance, medium, pyramid power, faith healing, big foot,

psychi prospecting, halted houses, perpetual motion machines,

antigravity locations, and amusingly, astrological birth control. Other polls

show that these phenomena are not the quirky beliefs of a handful on the

lunatic fringe.23

From the above, this research has further established the relevance

and efficacy of metaphysics in unraveling the secrets of nature that science

is incapable of uncovering. This has further shown the importance and

relevance of metaphysics to the society, without which the society could not

have been acquainted with the aforementioned spiritual entities existing in

the society.

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Also, where the scientific thinking/work is dwindling is within the social

realm. Individuals, groups, and nations have been trying to solve such social

problems as war, crime and poverty for millennia, and yet these social ills

still abound. For example, ‘Boko Haram’ insurgency has eaten deep into the

fabric of Nigerian History, and nothing has been done to stop it by the so-

called scientists. The recommendation of this paper is that metaphysicians

should be consulted in terms of nipping in the bud the menace.

Metaphysicians such as pastors, Herbalists, prophets, clairvoyants,

philosophers etc who see beyond this physical world and who use dialectic to

get to the intelligible world should be consulted for solutions to this

cankerworm.

To further buttress the above relevance of metaphysics, the following

are to be considered:

(a). Metaphysics and Practical Life

It is generally believed that metaphysics is pure abstract speculation

about theories that have no bearing on practical life. Consequently,

metaphysics is generally considered as irrelevant to practical life.

Metaphysics, according to this view, is a kind of intellectual hobby or an

intellectual game which the philosophers play with abstract theories. If

this view were correct then metaphysics could have no role in nation-

building, and could make no contribution to national or social

development. The history of Western philosophy, however, shows that

this view is false, for metaphysics (philosophy) has been one of the forces

that have shaped the structures of western society. Metaphysics (one of

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the core branches of philosophy) has had much to do with influencing

men’s attitude to life and bringing about changes in societies. The

philosophies of Socrates, Hegel, Spinoza, Dewey, Aristotle were certainly

not pure abstraction that had nothing to do with the practical lives of

men. Nor was the philosophy of a metaphysician called Plato irrelevant to

practical life. On the contrary, it gave generations of men a definite world

view which influence their life-style. This world-view changed their

attitudes towards life and led to the renunciation of material possessions,

for through the influence of Plato’s philosophy the things of this world

came to be seen in a new light. They are seen as unreal and as shadows

of the real things in another world.

(b). Philosophy and Human Development.

To talk of national Development is to talk primarily of the development

of human persons. Metaphysics (one of the core branches of

philosophy) has a vital contribution to make to the development of

human person. Metaphysics deals with both the physical and spiritual

aspects of man. Man is a composite of spirit and matter, metaphysics

then helps man to synthesise these elements together in him. Man is

such a complex being that has always been to himself a mystery and

an insoluble problem. Hence, the French Philosopher, Gabriel Marcel

describes man as a problematic being.24 and Jean-paul Sartre describes

him as a being who is not what he is and who is what he is not, a being

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who puts his own very being into question.25 This further shows the

importance of metaphysics in human affairs.

To this end, philosophy generally (metaphysics inclusive) helps to

shape man’s moral development. A very important aspect of the

development of human personality is moral development. Moral

development and maturity on the part of the citizen of a country are

pre-requisites for the development of that country. Indeed, moral

development is the most important aspect of national development, for

there can be no development of a country if its citizens are morally

undeveloped and immature. Moral development on the part of the

citizens is therefore a condition sine-qua-non for the development of

any nation.

From the above, one would see that metaphysics is not about nothing

but about some things that have bearing on human lives.

Conclusion

We have seen that far from being irrelevant to practical life,

metaphysics (philosophy) is on the contrary one of the powerful forces

shaping man’s attitude and the structures of societies. Philosophy, of which

metaphysics is a branch, has to do with the development of the society. The

development of the society, in turn leads to the development of the nation.

Development of any society or country starts from the conception stage

which is metaphysical. We must believe, conceive and rationally think about

ideas before nurturing such ideas to bring about the development of a

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society or country. It is a serious error to see national development only in

terms of economic development this, we have said, is not the primary aspect

of national development, for national development is primarily the

intellectual and moral development of people. unless priority is given to this,

the outcome of the developmental process would be a disaster.

To this end, it is the view of this paper that metaphysics, which is the

foundation of all sciences, should be given a pride of place in our society,

particularly, it should be incorporated into the curricular of primary,

secondary and tertiary institutions of learning globally until then, people

would know the relevance of the discipline.

References

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1. J. Kerlin, “Nature of Metaphysics” if.http//:www.com/pm,2004 (accessed 8th

June, 2009), 1 of 2. 2. J. Omoregbe, Metaphysics Without Tears: A Systematic and Historical Study, (Lagos: Joja Educational Research and Publishers ltd, 1994), vii.3. A.N Whitehead cf.S. Omoregbe, Metaphysics Without Tears: A systematic and Historical study, 1994, vii4. S. Omoregbe, Metaphysics Without Tears: A systematic and Historical study, 1994, vii.5. Aristotle, Metaphysics, (New York: Columbia University Press, 1952) 214.6. M.J. Kerlin, “Nature of Metaphysics” cf.http//:www.questia.com/pm, 2004 (accessed 8th June, 2009), 1 of 2.7. B. Henri, Introduction to Metaphysics, (New York: The Liberal Arts Press, 1949), 16. 8. M. Esfeld, “Metaphysics of Science: Between Metaphysics and Science” cf.http//:www.michael-andreas.esfeld@unit.ch,2007 (accessed 8th June, 2009,), 1 of 10.9. B. Saraswati, “Interface of Science, consciousness and identity” cf.http//.www.ignca.mic.in/us-03004.htm, 1996 (accessed 8th June,2010),1of7. 10. B. Saraswati, “Interface of Science, consciousness and identity” 1996, 3 of 7. 11. S. Omoregbe, Metaphysics Without Tears: A Systematic and Historical Study, 1994, v. 12. F. Copleston cf. J. Omoregbe, Metaphysics Without Tears: A Systematic and Historical Study, 1994, v.13. J. Omoregbe, Metaphysics Without Tears: A Systematic and Historical Study, 1994 vii.14. J. Omoregbe, Metaphysics Without Tears: A Systematic and Historical Study, 1994 viii.15. J.A. Aigbodioh, Philosophy of Science: Issues and Problems, (Ibadan: Hope

Publications, 1997), 1.16. A. Roberts, Chambers Encyclopedia English Dictionary,(Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1994), 14.17. A.F. Chalmers, What is this Thing Called Science?, (st Lugia Queens Land Press, 1982), 8.18. M. Mickley, “The Relationship Between Metaphysics and Science and the Resulting Implications” f.http//.www.mickleyassoc.com/ians.html,2008 (accessed 8th June,2009), 1of2. 19. See Engel in J.Omoregbe, Metaphysics Without Tears: A Systematic and Historical Study, 1994, 117.20. See Teihard de Chadin in J.Omoregbe, Metaphysics Without Tears: A Systematic and Historical Study, 117.

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21. See J.A. Kournay, Scientific Knowledge: Basic Issues in Philosophy of Science, California, 1990, 1. See also Evaristus Ewuatu (ed.) Tensions in Philosophy of Natural Science: Essays and Articles, (IMO, Nigeria: Global Press Ltd, 2003), 3. 22. M. Shermer, “The Difference between Science and Pseudo Science (Skeptical)” cf.http//:www.mchealshermer.com,2001 (accessed 12th April, 2009), 3 of 11.23. M. Schermer, “The Difference Between Science and Pseudo Science” 2001, 3of 11.24. See the French Philosopher, Gabriel Marcel in .J. Omoregbe, Knowing Philosophy, (Lagos: Joja Educational Research and Publishers Ltd, Second Edition, 2005), 19 5.25. See Tear-Paul Sartre in J. Omoregbe, Knowing Philosophy, Second Edition, 2005, 195.

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